Dataset Information

The effects of an integrated care intervention for the frail elderly on informal caregivers: a quasi-experimental study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

This study explored the effects of an integrated care model aimed at the frail elderly on the perceived health, objective burden, subjective burden and quality of life of informal caregivers.

Methods

A quasi-experimental design with before/after measurement (with questionnaires) and a control group was used. The analysis encompassed within and between groups analyses and regression analyses with baseline measurements, control variables (gender, age, co-residence with care receiver, income, education, having a life partner, employment and the duration of caregiving) and the intervention as independent variables.

Results

The intervention significantly contributed to the reduction of subjective burden and significantly contributed to the increased likelihood that informal caregivers assumed household tasks. No effects were observed on perceived, health, time investment and quality of life.

Conclusions

This study implies that integrated care models aimed at the frail elderly can benefit informal caregivers and that such interventions can be implemented without demanding additional time investments from informal caregivers. Recommendations for future interventions and research are provided.

Trial registration

Current Controlled Trials http://ISRCTN05748494. Registration date: 14/03/2013.

SUBMITTER: Janse B

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4021048 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

The effects of an integrated care intervention for the frail elderly on informal caregivers: a quasi-experimental study.

Janse Benjamin B Huijsman Robbert R de Kuyper Ruben Dennis Maurice RD Fabbricotti Isabelle Natalina IN

BMC geriatrics 20140501

<h4>Background</h4>This study explored the effects of an integrated care model aimed at the frail elderly on the perceived health, objective burden, subjective burden and quality of life of informal caregivers.<h4>Methods</h4>A quasi-experimental design with before/after measurement (with questionnaires) and a control group was used. The analysis encompassed within and between groups analyses and regression analyses with baseline measurements, control variables (gender, age, co-residence with ca ...[more]

PMID: 24885828

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundReforms in the Dutch healthcare system in combination with the aging of the population will lead to a strong increase in the demand for informal care in the Netherlands. A hip fracture is one of the most important causes of hospital admissions among frail elderly and informal caregivers experience stress that may have significantly negative impact on the caregivers' Quality of Life. The purpose of the study was to determine the nature, intensity and the care-related Quality of Life (CarerQoL) of informal caregivers of elderly patients in the first six months after a hip fracture. In this cross-sectional study, were interviewed the primary informal caregivers of patients with a hip fracture about the informal care provided after one, three or six months following the injury. The CarerQoL of the informal caregivers was measured with the CarerQoL-7D instrument.ResultsIn total, 123 primary informal caregivers were included. The CarerQoL-7D score was on average 83.7 (SD 15.0) after one, three and six months, and there were no major differences between the measurement time points. The average amount of informal care provided per patient per week was 39.5 during the first six months.Partners of patients with a hip fracture provided significantly more hours of informal care (β 34.0; 95% CI: 20.9 - 47.1). Female informal caregivers stated a significantly lower level of CarerQoL (β -7.8; 95% CI: -13.3 - -2.3). Female caregivers were 3.0 times more likely to experience relational problems (aOR 3.02; 95% CI 1.08-8.43). Caregivers provided care at 6 months were associated with physical health problems (aOR 2.54; 95% CI 1.05-6.14).ConclusionsInformal caregivers, especially partners, are faced with providing care of greater intensity to elderly patients during the first six months after a hip fracture. The CarerQoL was not associated with the intensity of the provided informal care. However, this study shows that a considerable group of informal caregivers for elderly patients with a hip fracture experienced relational, physical and mental health problems that stemmed from providing intensive informal care during the first six months.

Project description:BackgroundKnee osteoarthritis (KOA) is common in elderly people, causes pain, loss of physical functioning, and disability. This was a two-arm, superiority, quasi-experimental trial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a home-based exercise intervention (HBEI) to reduce KOA symptoms and improve the physical functioning of elderly patients.MethodsA total of 171 elderly patients (60 years of age or older) with KOA were recruited from four community centers. Patients from two community centers were randomly assigned to the intervention group (IG) and the other two centers were randomly assigned to the control group (CG). Participants in the IG received a 12-week HBEI (including four 2-h sessions supervised by a physiotherapist and fortnightly telephone support) combined with health education, while patients in the CG only received health education. The participants and physiotherapists were aware of the group assignment and alternative treatment components, but the study's hypotheses were not disclosed to the participants. Pain intensity, joint stiffness, lower-limb muscle strength, balance, mobility, and quality of life were measured before and after the intervention by the same blinded assessor.ResultsA total of 171 patients (IG: n = 84, CG: n = 87) were enrolled. Data were obtained from 141 patients with an average age of 68 (range, 60-86 years) who completed the 12-week study (IG: n = 71, CG: n = 70). No significant group differences were found in any outcome measures at baseline. At week 12, the pretest/posttest changes 3significant between-group differences in decreases in pain intensity (- 1.60 (CI, - 2.75 to - 0.58)) and stiffness (- 0.79 (CI, - 1.37 to - 0.21)), with the IG exhibiting significantly larger improvements on both measures than the CG. The IG also showed significantly greater improvements on all the secondary outcomes than the CG did.ConclusionsHBEI may be effective for relieving KOA symptoms, increasing the physical functioning, and improving quality of life in community-dwelling KOA elderly patients. A large randomized controlled trial with long-term follow-up is needed to confirm these findings.Trial registrationChinese Clinical Trails Registry number ChiCTR1800017026 (retrospectively registered). Registered 9 July 2018.

Project description:BackgroundThe objective of this quasi-experimental study was to determine whether bolus vitamin D supplementation taken either regularly over the preceding year or after the diagnosis of COVID-19 was effective in improving survival among hospitalized frail elderly COVID-19 patients.MethodsSeventy-seven patients consecutively hospitalized for COVID-19 in a geriatric unit were included. Intervention groups were participants regularly supplemented with vitamin D over the preceding year (Group 1), and those supplemented with vitamin D after COVID-19 diagnosis (Group 2). The comparator group involved participants having received no vitamin D supplements (Group 3). Outcomes were 14-day mortality and highest (worst) score on the ordinal scale for clinical improvement (OSCI) measured during COVID-19 acute phase. Potential confounders were age, gender, functional abilities, undernutrition, cancer, hypertension, cardiomyopathy, glycated hemoglobin, number of acute health issues at admission, hospital use of antibiotics, corticosteroids, and pharmacological treatments of respiratory disorders.ResultsThe three groups (n = 77; mean ± SD, 88 ± 5years; 49% women) were similar at baseline (except for woman proportion, p = 0.02), as were the treatments used for COVID-19. In Group 1 (n = 29), 93.1% of COVID-19 participants survived at day 14, compared to 81.2% survivors in Group 2 (n = 16) (p = 0.33) and 68.7% survivors in Group 3 (n = 32) (p = 0.02). While considering Group 3 as reference (hazard ratio (HR) = 1), the fully-adjusted HR for 14-day mortality was HR = 0.07 (p = 0.017) for Group 1 and HR = 0.37 (p = 0.28) for Group 2. Group 1 had longer survival time than Group 3 (log-rank p = 0.015), although there was no difference between Groups 2 and 3 (log-rank p = 0.32). Group 1, but not Group 2 (p = 0.40), was associated with lower risk of OSCI score ≥5 compared to Group 3 (odds ratio = 0.08, p= 0.03).ConclusionsRegular bolus vitamin D supplementation was associated with less severe COVID-19 and better survival in frail elderly.

Project description:BackgroundTo provide value-based care for patients with multi-morbidity, innovative integrated care programmes and comprehensive evaluations of such programmes are required. In Norway, a new programme called "Holistic Continuity of Patient Care" (HCPC) addresses the issue of multi-morbidity by providing integrated care within learning networks for frail elderly patients who receive municipal home care services or a short-term stay in a nursing home. This study conducts a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) to evaluate whether the HCPC programme performs better on a large set of outcomes corresponding to the 'triple aim' compared to usual care.MethodsProspective longitudinal survey data were collected at baseline and follow-up after 6-months. The assessment of HCPC was implemented by a novel MCDA framework. The relative weights of importance of the outcomes used in the MCDA were obtained from a discrete choice experiment among five different groups of stakeholders. The performance score was estimated using a quasi-experimental design and linear mixed methods. Performance scores were standardized and multiplied by their weights of importance to obtain the overall MCDA value by stakeholder group.ResultsAt baseline in the HCPC and usual care groups, respectively, 120 and 89 patients responded, of whom 87 and 41 responded at follow-up. The average age at baseline was 80.0 years for HCPC and 83.6 for usual care. Matching reduced the standardized differences between the groups for patient background characteristics and outcome variables. The MCDA results indicated that HCPC was preferred to usual care irrespective of stakeholders. The better performance of HCPC was mostly driven by improvements in enjoyment of life, psychological well-being, and social relationships and participation. Results were consistent with sensitivity analyses using Monte Carlo simulation.ConclusionFrail elderly with multi-morbidity represent complex health problems at large costs for society in terms of health- and social care. This study is a novel contribution to assessing and understanding HCPC programme performance respecting the multi-dimensionality of desired outcomes. Integrated care programmes like HCPC may improve well-being of patients, be cost-saving, and contribute to the pursuit of evidence based gradual reforms in the care of frail elderly.

Dataset Information

The effects of an integrated care intervention for the frail elderly on informal caregivers: a quasi-experimental study.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Trial registration

Publications

The effects of an integrated care intervention for the frail elderly on informal caregivers: a quasi-experimental study.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets